Radical Joy

Several years ago I clipped an article out of one of the theological journals that I subscribe to, Reader's Digest, and great little article, and I've kept it through the years to remind me of something that I think is a very important perspective on life. It was written back in the 80s by a man by the name of Robert Hastings. It's called the station. Listen to what he wrote. Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long train trip spanning the continent. Through the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways of children waving at us from a crossing of cattle grazing on a hillside of smoke pouring from a power plant of row upon row of corn and wheat of mountains and valleys of city skylines and village halls. But, ever most in our minds is our destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. Then wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we paste the aisles, hating the loitering minutes, waiting, waiting. When I reach the station that will be it we tell ourselves. When I'm 18, when I buy Mercedes, when I put the last kid through college, when I've paid off the mortgage, when I get that big promotion, when I retire I shall live happily ever after. Sooner or later realize there is no station, no place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream that constantly out distance us. The moment is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118, verse 24, this is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice in it and be glad. So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead climb more mountains, eat more ice cream. Amen. Go barefoot more often. Swim more rivers. Watch more sunsets. Last more. Live life as you go along. Now that book is probably a bit from a secular perspective. I think you may have picked up on that. But yet there is a principle there which only the believer in Christ has a right to live by. Although we do have a wonderful destination waiting for us, one that Carolyn sang about. Although there is a final destination that far out shines anything we have here. God does not want us to live this life with simply a view toward the destination. He wants us to live with joy along the trip. He wants us to live with joy each day that we live. He wants our lives to be infused with joy, a radical joy. How can we do that? Well in Romans chapter 5 Paul talks about that. So open your Bibles, please to Romans chapter 5. We're going to look at the first 11 verses this morning where we find that Paul's theme really is joy. He mentions that three times in these 11 verses. Verse 2 he says we will rejoice. Verse 3 he says we will rejoice. Verse 11 he says we will rejoice. And so that seems to be the refrain, the chorus of a hymn that Paul is weaving through these verses. He comes back to that theme of we will rejoice time and time again. Now I don't want to rip this out of its context. This rejoicing does take place at the end of a long series of arguments by Paul and thus that leads up to the reason for rejoicing. In fact that's the way Paul begins chapter 5 verse 1 where he says therefore good principle of Bible interpretation is any time you see the word therefore you always go back to see what it's therefore. The word therefore always ties a previous context into what the writer is about to say. So we can't just jump into chapter 5 without reminding ourselves why the therefore is there what it's therefore. In the first four chapters Paul has described to us what it means to be right with God. In other words to be declared righteous by God and he makes the point very clearly that we all need a righteousness from God not one that we work up to God but one that we receive from God because we're all sinners and we're all alienated from God because of that we need his righteousness and so then Paul develops the fact that we can receive God's righteousness by God's grace God freely offers it to us as a free gift by grace. It is based on the death of Christ Christ did all the work necessary to make possible that gift of life for us of being declared righteous and we receive it by faith by trusting what Jesus did for us on the cross. Paul has developed those themes in the first four chapters and he's used Abraham as an example the classic Old Testament example of one who is declared righteous by God through faith not through anything he did not through keeping the law not through any works not through any religious ceremony but through faith in God and for us through faith in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross we are declared righteous. Therefore because of that Paul says we can live with radical joy. In fact in these eleven verses he describes five spiritual blessings that should fill our lives with radical joy. I want you to feel today the joyfulness of this passage the exultant exuberant joy of this passage by the way that word rejoicing in some translations it's translated we glory in this it's to exalt to shout Jubilantly it's that kind of unbounded expressed joy. I want you to feel that in this passage this morning because it is so different from what Paul has done thus far in the book of Romans thus far he has systematically laid out his thoughts and described what it means for all men to be considered sinners and to be then declared righteous by God and he's moving kind of logically systematically from from thought to thought developing this story of the gospel and it says though when he comes to chapter five he lays down his pen and he just breaks out in a hymn of praise this is like a wonderful praise and worship chorus like some of those we sang today and he just bursts out in this exuberant joy this whole passage breathes with that kind of confident joy I want you to feel that this morning what do we have to rejoice in why can we live with radical joy and truly no matter what our circumstances are enjoy the trip to heaven not just thinking about the destination the first reason the first spiritual blessing that brings this kind of joy is peace with God look at it in verse one therefore since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ I want to describe first of all what this peace is not because it's important in the context here to understand the kind of peace he's talking about we need to understand first of all what it is not this kind of peace is not a calmness of mind or of heart now Paul talks about that kind of peace in other places in his writings for instance in Philippians chapter four verses six and seven familiar verses to many of you he talks about this kind of calmness of heart and calmness and peace of mind he says do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving present your requests to God and notice what happens when you do that and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus now this in this passage in Philippians four is the calmness of heart and mind but notice he describes it a little differently than he does in Romans five here in Philippians four it's the peace of God that guards our hearts and minds that gives us that calmness of soul in Romans five it's the peace with God different preposition different kind of peace so this is not a calmness of soul or peace of mind nor is it nor is it a security that comes from that kind of peace by the way it is possible to have a false security that you think everything is okay between you and God and you have never been saved never been justified or declared righteous it's possible to have a false sense of security or feeling that everything is right when you have not trusted Christ as your savior so Paul's not talking about an inner peace in our hearts and minds here that's not what he's talking about in Romans five so what is this peace well here's what it is here's what this piece is it is the removal of alienation hostility between God and us that's what he's talking about you see before you were saved before you trusted Christ you were an enemy of God verse 10 Paul actually uses that word you skip down to verse 10 he says for if when we were God's enemies we were reconciled to him through the death of his son he goes on to say more but he describes us with those word with that word enemy before you were saved you were God's enemy now watch this God was not your enemy God loved you God wanted reconciliation you were God's enemy you had placed yourself and all of us are born this way with a sin nature and we choose because of that sin nature to do acts of sin thus alienating us from God we come into this world with a hostility toward God alienated separated from God we are his enemies Paul talks about this later in Romans chapter 8 and verse 7 when he says the sinful mind is hostile to God it does not submit the God's law nor can it do so I mean we come into the world with that kind of equipment that kind of sin nature that kind of mindset that is hostile to God Paul also talks about this in Colossians chapter 1 where he says once you were any couples these ideas here you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior so clearly Paul is teaching us through his word through the word of God Paul is teaching us that we are separated from God we are alienated from God we are enemies of God but God makes a peace treaty God extends the olig branch God makes peace with us and how does he do that verse one says we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ it is through Christ that God makes peace with us signs the peace treaty there's no longer any alienation or hostility it's through Christ and what did Christ do to make it possible for this peace treaty to be enforced he died for us he took our punishment he bore the penalty of God for our sin when he died on the cross that's where the peace was made back in Colossians chapter 1 this put another verse Colossians 1 20 on the screen where Paul prefaces his remarks about our alienation with these words and through him through Christ to reconcile to himself all things whether things on earth or things in heaven and here's how he did it by making peace through his blood shed on the cross so when Jesus shed his blood on the cross that's how he made peace between God and us that peace comes at the cost of the life of Christ and when you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior you get the peace of God Paul also talks about this in Ephesians chapter 4 and let me just read these verses for you Ephesians chapter 2 I should say verses 14 to 18 maybe the most extended section in the officials of Paul on this concept of peace where Paul says for he himself is our peace who has made the two one there he's talking about Jew and Gentile entirely different backgrounds but now they come into one body he did this and has destroyed the barrier the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations his purpose was to create in himself one new man out of two thus making peace and in this one body in the body of Christ in the church to reconcile both of them people from entirely different religious backgrounds to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which he put the death of hostility he came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near for through him we both have access to the Father by one spirit you see God made peace through the death of his son when Christ died for you he instituted the peace treaty between you and God so that when you receive Christ there's no more hostility there's no more alienation you are no longer removed from God you have peace with God now that may lead you to feelings of peace maybe you recall when you trusted Christ as your Savior you felt like a load of guilt had rolled off your back like John Bunyan pictures and pilgrims progress of the the center at the cross kneeling under a load of sin and when he receives Christ that that burden of sin rolls off his back maybe that's the way you felt and you just felt an overwhelming sense of peace but maybe you didn't maybe you trusted Christ as a five or six year old or in my case an eight year old and maybe you didn't really have any feelings like that this is not talking about feelings it's not talking about an inward sense or feeling of peace regardless of how you may have felt or what your emotional experience was when you trusted Christ market down God says it peace was made you have the peace with God when you trust Christ as your Savior and that's something to have exuberant joy about that we have peace with God but that's not all Paul says not only do we have peace with God we also have access to God look at verse two through whom referring back to the Lord Jesus Christ in verse one through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand stop right there there's enough packed into those words to last us for a few minutes what does it mean that we have access to God well that means a couple of things that clearly are described in this verse first of all it means that we have permission to enter his presence we have gained access by faith access is permission to enter one's presence you see in the ancient world you could not just enter into the presence of a king without permission you had to be invited in probably the best example of this in the Bible is the Old Testament story of Esther and some of you will immediately remember that story it is set during a time when many Israelites are still in captivity to the Meadow Persian Empire which had taken over from the Babylonians and many Jews had gone back to the land already but some had stayed in Persia and there's a very very powerful ruler on the throne Zerxes is his name where his Hebrew name and Esther is a Hajueras has through a series of events to become upset with his queen Vashity and deposed her from her queen ship and has had a contest the beauty pageant to elect a new to choose a new queen and that queen so happens to be a Jewish young lady by the name of Esther Esther comes into the palace becomes his queen but Esther through her uncle Mordecai is made aware of a plot by a government official to exterminate all the Jews in the whole Persian empire and Mordecai pleads with her you must intervene before the king on our behalf she sends him back a message in Esther chapter four and says you don't understand you don't just walk into the presence of the king in fact if someone comes into the presence of the king without being invited Esther 4.11 says he has but one law and that is death if you just walk into the courtroom into the presence of the king and you have not been summoned to come that's automatic death penalty and she says the king has not called for me for 30 days so I don't think he's gonna call for me Mordecai says Esther the choice is yours but I think you need to see that God has raised you up for such a time as this to intervene for his people and Esther's response is tell everybody you know all of our people to pray and fast for three days at the end of those three days I will present myself to the king and if I perish I perish so she does after those three days where her people have been fasting and praying for her to be accepted by the king she walks into an outer court where the king can see her while he is on his throne and oh what tense moments must have followed because the law says if she is there uninvited she dies unless the king extends his sector and if he would choose to do that and that is completely his choice the law says she must die but if he would extend his sector by his own free will by his grace then she can come into his presence and as she waits there he turns and recognizes that Queen Esther is waiting to see him and the Bible says she found favor in his eyes and he extended the sector and she came into his presence to make her request now what Paul is saying is we have that kind of access continually anytime we want to go in to God's presence we have that access we do not have to be invited in think about this this is the God of the universe this is the king who spoke and all things came into existence and you have 24 seven access into his presence you can come anytime you want and he extends his grace and he says my child I love it that you're here please come into my presence make whatever request you have we have boldness to enter into the very throne room of grace the writer of Hebrews says to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need we can have that boldness to come at any time we have access we have permission to enter his presence anytime you can come into the presence of God now that is something to get joyful about that's something to say amen about that's something to break out in a hymn like Paul does here and say we rejoice in the fact that we have access into the presence of God but not only does it mean permission to enter his presence it also means you have a perfect standing before God because Paul goes on to describe that he says we have access we've gained access through through Christ we've gained access by faith now notice the next words into this grace in which we now stand what he's talking about is we have a standing before God of grace when Esther was allowed access into the presence of King of Hajiwares she now had a standing before him of being accepted something that couldn't change because he has accepted her he has extended the sector we have a new standing in the presence of God it's a standing it is it is a position that we have before God that is showered with enveloped in based on grace in other words God now looks at you not as one who doesn't deserve to be in his presence not as one who is alienated from him you have a new standing you're no longer his enemy you are his child and you have a new standing in grace in his presence most daddies if they work in a particular place that's not dangerous if they're in an office setting or something like that have a standard rule of thumb that if anyone in my family calls or if anyone of my family comes they have immediate access they don't have to wait I will see them immediately quite because they have a standing they have a position that allows them immediate access and that's the kind of standing we have as God's children it's a standing that is in grace and it never changes never changes standing in grace access to God a perfect standing before him we rejoice Paul says because of this access to God but he's not done not only do we have peace with God access to God we also have hope in God and this is a new outlook on life it really is a completely new outlook on life this hope in God Paul begins to turn toward the hope that we have at the end of us to and he says and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God hope is a certain looking forward to what God has promised and what he tells us here is that this hope is anchored in the glory of God what this is is a forward look this hope is looking forward to the glory that we will share with him in heaven we look forward we rejoice in the fact that we have this hope of the glory of God when we will see him in his glory when we will share his glory with him Revelation 21 says we will see him and he will be our God and we will be his people and he will be with us we will be with him in glory in heaven's glory we will share his glory a glorified body one that is like the resurrected body of Christ we look forward to that Paul says we have that hope in him there is coming a day when everything that keeps us from being like him will be gone forever everything that keeps us from being like him will be gone forever there will be no physical limitations we'll have a glorified body there will be no spiritual limitations we will be in a place of glory with no sin nature no attraction or allurement or temptation to sin at all there will be nothing present in glory that will keep us from being like him we will be in his glory we will be changed into his glorious body and presence we will rest in glory in heaven that's a forward look but there's more to it than that again Paul doesn't want us just to think about the destination he also wants us to think about the trip as glorious as the destination is notice what Paul says in verse three not only so in other words there's more than just looking toward future glory that that forward look not only so but we also rejoice and this gets shocking we also rejoice in our sufferings now you might expect that he would say not only do we look forward to heaven but we rejoice in this life right now but Paul's more specific than that what he's talking about here is an upward look what it means to live life in this present world of difficulty and suffering with an upward look with a look that that looks to glory and the hope that we have in Christ an upward look so Paul says we can rejoice even in our sufferings the Greek preposition in really means in the midst of it doesn't mean to rejoice for evil but it means to rejoice in the midst of in the presence of our sufferings we can still rejoice because we can see beyond the sufferings we can see what God is accomplishing through our suffering now please bear with me here stick with me every one of us has suffering in life of one kind or another and we can either keep our eyes on the suffering and on what we're going through and how much it hurts and it does I would not for a moment deny that we can either keep our eyes focused on that or we can keep our eyes focused on the process that God is using through suffering to take us to this hope this upward look notice the process he says we rejoice in our sufferings verse three because we know that suffering produces perseverance now the word perseverance is a word which means to bear up under the load it's dead fastness it's stability suffering produces stability suffering produces the ability to bear up under the load it enables you to get stronger I am told this does not come from experience but I'm told that weightlifting is like that something which I know little or nothing about but I'm told that weightlifting operates on this principle you begin with a small amount of weights and by the way I did do some of this in college but that's been many many years ago you start with a small amount of weight and you build yourself up to larger amounts of weight because the more you lift the more muscle mass and tone you're developing to lift more weight what God is doing through suffering is enabling us to build up through resistance to the pressure the ability to bear up under the pressure he may well be preparing you for greater weights that will come upon you next year or five years down the road but this is a process of developing stability the ability to bear up under the load it's a process that God uses and it requires suffering it requires some being under the pressure of the weights to build that up so that's what God uses suffering for it produces steadfastness stability but notice stability produces something else in our lives look at verse four perseverance character in other words perseverance produces character as you're developing this stability this ability to bear up under the weight under the load then you're producing character the word Paul uses for character here is a character that is produced through the fire it is proven character it was a word used for testing of precious metals in that day which meant you threw the metal in the fire you heated up the fire got real hot but what would happen through the heat of that fire impurities would rise to the top and could be skimmed off and the result is a more pure metal now that's the word that's used here it's proven character it's a life that has been in the fire and what happens under pressure suffering we develop the ability to bear up under the load we develop strengths perseverance but that perseverance then develops through the fires of testing develops a proven character because impurities in our character are skimmed off as we go through suffering I don't know about you but when I go through difficult times I see reactions in me that are not pleasant that are not pretty I see sinful attitudes coming out I see sinful responses coming to the front of my mind and art and God puts His finger on those and says okay you see you see you're not you're not handling the pressure but you see what it is now you see the impurity rising to the four here let's skim that off let's make you a more pure vessel for me that's what God does through suffering which develops perseverance which develops character but notice he's not done yet character produces verse four hope ah we've come full circle we're rejoicing in present sufferings not just looking to the hope of the future but even the sufferings that we go through that produce perseverance and character lead us back to hope lead us to recognize that someday we will be in the presence of God but there's more here than just waiting for the destination what he's talking about here is taking the destination and bringing it back to where you are under the suffering it's taking the hope of heaven and bringing it into the reality of where you are in suffering in other words seeing things even your suffering from a heavenly perspective being able to take where you are now in the midst of your suffering and see it from the perspective of hope of the future of glory in heaven and bringing that into your real life experience now that is the hope he's talking about here and that's the hope that we all have if we know Christ is savior sometimes you go to the doctor some people go to the doctor a lot and the older we get the more we go but you go to the doctor and whenever you go to the doctor you hope that nothing is wrong but sometimes the doctor says there's something wrong and that hope vanishes but you still hang on to another hope and that second hope is I hope it's nothing serious but sometimes the doctor says hey after some tests this is serious and that hope vanishes but you still have another hope that you hang on to and that hope is I know this is serious it made me life threatening but I'm hoping there's some treatment plan that will get me through this and lead to my recovery but sometimes the doctor says sorry it's too far gone there's no treatment that will work and you may even hear the words there is no hope left but for the believer in Jesus Christ that's not the final hope you've still got another hope to go back to and that is the hope that even if it is something wrong and it is very serious and there is no human hope for recovery you'll recover in heaven someday that's the hope that all of us have and bringing that hope into our present circumstances changes the way we look at our suffering because ultimately even the worst suffering cannot separate us from our hope because verse five says that hope does not disappoint us you will never hear a doctor say sorry that hope's gone to no doctor can say that and God's not going to say that God promises you that hope it is sure it will never disappoint you you will always have that hope and that hope can come back into your present suffering and change radically the way you view what you're going through so we can rejoice pulse is even in our sufferings because we know that's just a process leading toward the hope of heaven number of years ago back in the early 80s the Russians were the first to put men into space for long periods of time and they found out some things through experience that were not very pleasant they in 1982 sent some cosmonauts that stayed 211 days in space and when they got back they were suffering from busyness high pulse rates heart palpitations they couldn't walk for a week and 30 days later they were still in rehab to build back up muscle mass they lost even heart muscle and what was discovered was because they were in a zero gravity type situation in space there was no resistance in any of their movements and so they more quickly than you would hear on earth more quickly lost muscle mass even heart muscle and so they began to refigure this thing and and they developed a space suit which had elastic bands on it that constricted whenever there was movement and produced resistance and then they also instituted a a vigorous exercise program which if if you see astronauts today or anyone going to the international space station you may recognize they're doing these exercises and things they're supposed to do every day the purpose of that is to force their muscles to work because in just normal movements there's no resistance to them so by 1987 the Russians had brought a cosmonaut back from space had been in space for 326 days with no ill effects whatsoever you see we must have resistance we must have pressure we must have suffering in order to develop steadfastness perseverance the ability to bear up under the load which develops proven character which develops hope and then brings that hope back into our present experience to enable us to suffer better because we suffer in the prospect of hope but that's the way life works that's the way God has designed spiritual maturity to work if you never have any resistance if you never have any pressure if you never have any suffering then you'll never develop muscle strength spiritually and so that's why Paul says we can rejoice in our sufferings I think if you were to ask today Abraham what was your highest spiritual experience what caused you to grow your grow the most in your relationship with God he would probably say something but the years of waiting for the promise of God when I didn't think it was coming or maybe when God told me to go to Mount Moriah and sacrifice my son I grew through that experience it was gut-wrenching I grew through that more than any other I think if you were to ask Joseph where did you grow the most you would say 13 years of being a slave in Potover's house and being a prisoner that's where God proved my character and helped me to develop the strength to do what he wanted me to do later I think if you were asked Jacob what was the most growing experience in your life he'd say 20 years underlaid and that cheat that's what caused me to grow and then when he came back to the land he wrestled with the angel of God hip was dislocated and he became a prince with God I think if you were to ask David where did you grow the most it was in those years of running from Saul hiding in caves I think if you were to ask Moses where did you grow the most in your walk with God he'd say it was the 40 years in the desert that's what prepared me to lead God's people I think if you were to say to Peter Peter what crisis experience helped you to grow most in depending on the Lord he would say it was my failure when I denied the award I came out of that a different man I think if you were to ask Paul Paul what was it what was it that you would attribute the greatest degree of spiritual growth and endurance in your life I think he would probably say it was the thorn in the flesh because that's where I learned that God's grace is sufficient and God's strength has made perfect weakness where do we learn that kind of stuff we only learn it through suffering and that's why Paul says we can rejoice we can rejoice even in our suffering because we know that's a part of the process God uses to strengthen us and make us better it's not just as simple as someone say well God has a reason for that God has a purpose for that we can say that and really not mean anything by it God does have a reason God does have a purpose God does have a plan and all suffering but it's deeper than just God has a purpose and we'll never know it no God has a purpose and we do know it it's to develop perseverance and character and hope that's what it is he's told us what it is so that we can rejoice in our suffering that's reason for deep joy even in the midst of suffering so we have peace with God we have access to God we have hope in God but we also have the love of God versus five through eight notice quickly with me notice first the experience of God's love God's love experienced in verse five he says and hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he's given us see this hope doesn't disappoint we are we are certain of the hope of heaven because God continually reassures us of his love and he does that through the Holy Spirit that he's placed within us now I love the way Paul says this the way we experience God's love is not like the way some children experience their parents love kind of meet it out in measures I'll give you a little dose here a little dose there just kind of keep you wondering you know oh no God pours out his love on us the idea in the word there is that God floods us with his love lavishly covers us in his love and reassures us constantly to overflowing through the presence of the spirit that he loves us God doesn't hold anything back his love experience is wonderful but notice God's love demonstrated where is this kind of love demonstrated where is it seen the best Paul tells us in verse six you see at just the right time when we were still powerless Christ died for the ungodly very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man though for a good man some might possibly dare to die but God demonstrates his own love for us in this while we were still sinners Christ died for us the greatest demonstration of God's love is in the death of his son for us God's love is demonstrated best there and here's the reason why God's love is demonstrated not to people who are good or worthy of his love it's demonstrated to those who are described by three words in this passage verse six the word powerless that means we were totally unable to do anything pleasing to God anything that would merit him smiling and saying you know you're really a pretty good person I think I'll just take you to heaven on that basis now we were powerless to do that powerless and then the second word end of verse six ungodly that means totally controlled by sin opposite from what God wants and desires for our lives we were ungodly third word in the verse eight we were still sinners we had transgressed the commands of God we'd gone beyond the standards we'd broken his commands and it's those people us whom God loves and showed his love by giving his son that is that is an inhuman kind of love it's a kind of love that's hard for us to grasp because it's so unnatural for us that's why Paul uses the example in verse seven of our human love very rarely will he one die for a righteous man righteous man as someone you would respect because of their righteous character very rarely someone would die for a righteous person someone you respect because of character may not know them all that well but you respect them he goes on to say though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die a good person morally good person is a person that is dear to you because of that goodness it's not just someone you respect from afar know that they live a righteous lifestyle this is someone you love and there are occasions where people will lay down their lives for others in that situation that's what makes God loves so much the more unreal in that we were not righteous we were not good we were ungodly we were powerless we were sinners but he showed his love for us and that's why John cries out in first John chapter three and verse one how great is the love the father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God and that is what we are the words how great literally mean how unnatural is this kind of love house how far from human experience how foreign is this love to us we can't grasp that kind of love completely it's demonstrated across back in the 1980s Uve Homer was a pastor in East Berlin this is the days before the falling of the iron curtain who still had the USSR communist Russia who still had communist nations in the eastern block of Eastern Europe and in East Germany communist rule nation Uve Homer had six children all of whom were denied admission to the University of East Berlin as they were qualified they had high marks in school they should have gotten in by any reasonable expectation but the minister of education for 26 years in in in East Germany was Margot Hanukkah who was the wife of the premier Eric Hanukkah communist rulers in East Germany and they consistently refused admission to Uve Homer's children because he was a pastor and then came the fall of the Berlin Wall the fall of the iron curtain fall of communism and the Hanukkah's were driven out of their palatial home all of the trappings they had with being at the top of the communist rule no place to live no belongings and now being indicted for crimes before the fall of communism none of their communist buddies would come to their help they were afraid of them one of the maintained as much distance as possible enter Uve Homer who opened his home and invited him to come live with his family which they did for almost two years before they fled to South America would you've done that what I've done that these are the people who consistently simply because I'm a pastor refused entrance to my children and their opportunity to have a higher education would I open my home to them by the way Homer would go on to say that after the two years he wasn't sure that they had trusted Christ but they'd at least gotten to the point where they would fold their hands and bow their heads when the family prayed at mealtimes and recognized there's at least a God who knows what may have happened in their hearts later on that's the kind of love that Paul's talking about not to our friends not to those who treat us well to those who treat us wrongly to those who deny our children to love them that's an unnatural kind of love that's a foreign kind of love that's exactly the kind of love God has for you and I'm convinced we do not fully understand that kind of love we don't fully grasp it that God could love us that much but I'll tell you what if you begin to get a little bit of an inkling of that kind of love it will cause you to well up with joy that God would love you that much in spite of who we are we have the love of God and then we have a future with God quickly verses nine through eleven verse nine since we have now been justified by his blood how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him Paul saying here we will never face God's wrath that's the part of the future we have with God we will never face God's wrath I mean God's already done the harder thing if he's justified as by his blood if he's taken sinners who did not know him and declared them righteous by the blood of Christ that's the harder thing then certainly the rest of it's easy how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him that's why I do not believe that believers in this church age will enter the tribulation time because that's the time of the outpouring God's wrath we've been delivered from that I don't believe we'll be at the great white throne judgment which is the judgment for all those who will face God's wrath I do not believe that believers in Jesus Christ will ever be in hell because we've been delivered from his wrath we will not see his wrath thank God for that that is cause for joy but not only will we never see God's wrath we are assured of eternal life verse 10 for if when we were God's enemies we were reconciled to him through the death of his son how much more having been reconciled shall we be saved through his life interesting how he shifts from justification to reconciliation justification is the more positional legal declaration of God reconciliation has to do with relationship that's what he's talking about here we were alienated from God we were enemies now we've been brought into relationship with him we've been reconciled to him and since he's done that since he's again done the hard thing reconciling us the rest of us peace of cake we will be saved in the sense of ultimately delivered into heaven through his life whether so much good theology here Jesus death makes us right with God it is his present intercession for us as Hebrews 725 says he ever lives to make intercession for us so he can save us to the utter most because he ever lives to make intercession for us it is that living Christ interceding for us in heaven that assures we will be in heaven someday and we will be there because he's praying for us he's interceding for us and he's able to save us to the utter most in other words all the way all the way to heaven so we are a sure to the eternal life I don't know about you but that brings great joy great joy to know that we have peace with God access to God hope in God the love of God a future with God but notice how Paul ends it in verse 11 not only is this so not only do we have this litany of five spiritual blessings that just well up joy inside us not only is this so but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation and by implication all the other blessings that go along with it here's Paul's point in closing this out all these spiritual blessings come through Christ what are we really rejoice in the blessings no we rejoice in Christ who provides those blessings for us all those blessings come through Christ so the real question is my friend do you know Christ do you have Christ as your savior if you've never trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior I would urge you to do that today and through him you will receive peace with God access to God hope in God the love of God and a future with God if you do know Christ as your savior why are we not rejoicing in those blessings why do we keep our faces in the mud always down with our circumstances why don't we see what we have in Christ let's pray together father thank you for the radical joy that can infuse our lives even in the midst of hardship and difficulty knowing what we have in Christ the spiritual blessings you've given us Lord I pray that if there's anyone here who's never trusted Christ that today would be the day of new life for them where they trust you as savior come into that peace with God that unfolds all these other blessings Lord I would also pray for each of us as believers how easy it is to get our eyes focused on the hardships and the difficulties thinking that everything will be cured by heaven we are so grateful for that destination but help us to see that we can look up even through the trip and experience full joy because of what we have in Christ it's in his name we pray amen